Page 7

S OMEONE’S FOLLOWING me.

I glance over my shoulder as I quicken my steps, but I can’t see anyone. My heart pounds loudly in my chest as I hurry down a dark street.

I’m not too far away from home, but I’ve seen a shadow—a guy in a hoodie—way too often to think it’s a coincidence.

Is it Victor? I don’t know, and I don’t want to stay and wait to find out. Whenever I walk alone at night, I’m super aware of everything around me.

It would be great if I had a car, but I can’t afford one, and it would take me longer to get to college and back because of the crazy traffic. And I’d probably have to hide my trashy car somewhere away from the college’s parking lot because everyone would know it was mine. I bet someone would try to get it towed away, so it’s easier if I walk anyway.

Maybe the guy in a hoodie lives in the area. It doesn’t mean he’s after me.

But as I throw another quick look over my shoulder, I spot him. My heart skips a beat. He keeps his head down, and I can’t see his face. He’s just a dark, threatening shadow.

Maybe he’s minding his own business and I’m totally overreacting, but I break into a run. My house quickly comes into view and I dash to the door. I’m all out of breath as I fish for my keys. My hand shakes a little as I unlock the door.

I glance behind me as the door clicks and I push it open. The hoodie guy is nowhere in sight, but I still storm inside and slam the door closed behind me. After locking it, I let out a relieved sigh and wipe the sheen of sweat off my forehead.

It doesn’t matter who the guy is anymore, or if he was really following me or not. I’m safe now. The buzzing of my phone makes me jump.

I check the screen. It’s just a message from my mom. She and Dad had to go visit my grandma, who had a bad fall this morning. At least everything’s okay, but it also means I’m home alone.

As I open the door to my room and toss my bag on the bed, my gaze falls on the window. It’s cracked open. I don’t remember leaving it that way, but it’s possible I forgot to close it before heading out.

I shut the window and go to the bathroom. After taking a long and nice hot shower, I feel a lot better. My muscles are no longer tense, and I don’t jump at every single little creak that I hear.

As I prepare myself some dinner in the kitchen, a draft of cold air hits me. I furrow my brow. Where did that come from?

I go to my parents’ bedroom and groan. Another open window. I pad through the dark room. An uneasy feeling raises the hairs on the back of my neck, but I ignore it and close the window.

I rush through the darkness back into the fully lit hallway. Maybe I should’ve turned on all the lights, but it feels stupid to be afraid of the dark, especially because nothing bad has ever happened to me in the dark. No matter what Sebastian did to me, it was usually in the light.

After eating and doing the dishes, I return to my room. I tilt my head as I spot my bag. Didn’t I leave it on my bed? Why is it now on the floor? Did I miss the bed when I tossed it? Maybe it fell down.

I sigh. Today was an exhausting, long day, and it made me overly sensitive and paranoid about everything. Ghosts don’t exist. I’m all alone here, and even if something has moved, it isn’t because of anything sinister.

It’s time to go to bed and forget about everything that happened, especially about what happened with Victor.

Oh hell.

But as I lie in bed, I can’t stop thinking about him. I bite down on my lip because I can’t get the image of him out of my head. He’s too damn hot for his own good. I groan and stare at the ceiling.

There’s pressure between my legs that I don’t know what to do with. I mean, I do. But it’s Victor. I don’t want to be attracted to him. He’s an asshole, and he doesn’t even deserve to be in my fantasies. It’s not like he’ll ever find out about it, but I need to have some standards, right?

I toss and turn, trying to think about anything other than Victor.

Don’t think about Victor.

Don’t think about Victor.

Don’t think about Victor’s hot ass.

Definitely don’t think about his full lips kissing...

Ugh!

I glance at my alarm clock. It’s already way too late. I need to get some sleep.

***

A brUSH OF SOMETHING against my cheek makes my eyes fly open. Moonlight enters the room just enough that I can see the figure looming over me.

I scream, my heart jumping into my throat. Grabbing my pillow, I hurl it at the figure and then I scramble across the bed to turn on the lights.

I’m blinded and dizzy as the lights come on, and I sink to the floor behind the bed. My heart pounds so loudly in my chest, which is so tight I can barely breathe.

But the room is empty.

There’s no one here. No shadow. No intruder.

I push the strands of my disheveled hair out of my face and slowly get to my shaky feet. My breath gets stuck in my chest as I pick up a vase off my shelf and slowly make my way around the bed.

No one is hiding behind the other side of my bed. I swallow hard as I grab my phone. It’s the middle of the night. I glance toward the windows.

Was it a dream? Or was there actually someone in my room?

I take a few more deep breaths because I don’t want to go check the rest of the house right now. My fingers tremble around the vase I’m still clutching as I sit down on the edge of my bed.

No one’s here.

It’s just my mind playing tricks on me. I was probably in the middle of a dream and it somehow transferred to real life, so I saw something that wasn’t there. It’s the only explanation. If someone had come to rob the house, I’d hear more noise. They wouldn’t be looming over me like...

Sebastian.

I close my eyes for a moment because I don’t want to think about him, but I can’t push the memory out of my mind.

I’m asleep in bed.

“What did you do, bitch?” A loud shout wakes me up as Sebastian yanks the covers off me.

His short dark brown hair is a mess, his hazel eyes wide.

The lights blind me, and my pulse is in overdrive as I blink at him.

“Babe, what’s happening?” I stammer.

“What’s happening?!” He leans over me, his hand burying into my pajama shirt. “You cheated on me. You fucking cheated on me! Didn’t you?”

“What? No! I would never! I swear!” I beg as tears start streaming down my face.

“Then why the fuck are you crying?” His face is so close to mine, his eyes wide and bloodshot, his nostrils flaring.

“I... Please!” Terror squeezes my insides as he balls his fists.

I’m so sure he’s going to kill me.

Suddenly, a smile erupts on his face as he straightens his back.

I stare at him, barely breathing, my tears silently running because I’m too afraid to make any noise.

“Relax, baby,” he says. “I know you didn’t cheat on me. It was just a game. Was I convincing enough? But now you know what will happen if you do cheat on me.” He grins.

I stare at him in complete shock as he bends down and places a soft kiss on my cheek.

I pull myself out of the memory. It’s been months since I thought about it, but something brought it all back.

I get to my feet, still holding the vase, and I slowly walk through the door and into the hallway. Nothing moves as I turn on the lights wherever I go. I stand in the kitchen for a bit, just listening, but everything is perfectly silent.

As I open the door to my parents’ bedroom, I immediately flip the light switch.

No intruders, but just as I’m about to turn off the light, my gaze falls on the curtains. They’re lightly swaying in the breeze, which shouldn’t be possible. Unless...

I inch toward the window.

My heart skips a beat.

It’s not fully closed. There’s a slight gap, which I know I didn’t leave. I latch it carefully and spin around, my pulse racing again. Someone was in here. Someone broke into my home, loomed over me, and touched my face.

I make a dash for my room, snatching my phone. Do I call the cops? My parents? But it’s the middle of the night and the window couldn’t have been opened from the outside. Someone got out through it, which means they were here all the time while I was...

I can’t breathe. My throat is impossibly tight, my chest heaving.

Sebastian returned, didn’t he?

But why now? He’s supposed to be away because his college isn’t anywhere near here, and he probably has a new girlfriend.

I yelp because my phone buzzes in my hand, breaking me out of my thoughts.

Are you awake and thinking about me?

What? I don’t recognize the number.

I bet you are. The way you were staring at me...

A photo pops out, and I gasp.

It’s a photo of Victor. He’s lying in bed, shirtless. The way he looks at the camera is so damn naughty, like he’s fully aware of just how hot he looks with his hair all effortlessly messy and his perfectly shaped abs.

Are you touching yourself?

What the fuck? How did he get my number? How does he know I’m awake? I see a blurry clock in the background behind him. The pic wasn’t taken right now. And there’s only one way he could know I’m awake just about fucking now.

It was him.

He was in my house, wasn’t he? He followed me home, and then he somehow got in through the window, stayed hidden, scared the shit out of me, and then escaped back through the window.

If he got his hands on my phone, he could’ve messaged or called himself while I was in the shower or in the kitchen to get my number.

Is he fucking insane?

But I’m actually a little relieved. Better the devil you know and all that, and at least it’s not Sebastian.

I type him a message.

How did you get my number?

What does it matter? I always get what I want.

Stay away from me, or I’ll call the cops.

Does that even scare him? He’s filthy rich, and he could probably make any charges go away. That’s why he’s not afraid of anything.

What if I wasn’t alone at home? What if I’d attacked him or shot him or something? I can’t believe it. Unless he’s somewhere safe, and he paid someone to do it.

I’ll need to make sure all windows and doors are completely closed and can’t be opened just like that.

Before Victor can respond, I block his number.

Maybe I should call the cops anyway, but do I need all that drama? I don’t think anything’s missing, and there aren’t any signs of someone breaking in. They’d just call me crazy and say I had a bad dream, especially if I accused my popular classmate of sneaking into my house to get my number.

Who the hell would believe that? Not even I fully believe it. I don’t want to scare my parents either. Once they’re back, I’ll tell them crime is on the rise in the neighborhood and that we should be more careful. I can say someone broke into my classmate’s home.

I scroll back to Victor’s photo and chew on the inside of my cheek. What’s wrong with him? I bet he did it all to prove that he can. He wants to mess with me, and I don’t know why.

But I’m too restless and scared to go to sleep again. So I don’t know how I’ll make it to my class in the morning. And I’ll have to see him there and his annoying, stupid face.

I run my hand through my hair.

I glance at the photo on my screen and groan. Then I flip my phone so I no longer have to look at his icy blue eyes.